100 Tale Challenge!
by TauMeow
Summary: I'm participating in the Warriors 100 Tale Challenge with RiverLee, Brackenfur, and a couple other people who I forgot... :/ Anyways, I am NOT doing this for competition, but simply because I think the idea is cool. Rated T, just in case. R&R!
1. Just the Beginning

**The first story/tale thingy... Enjoy!**

**Oh yes, and apologies to all those Darkstar fans from TWW. ;) But the relationship between Darkpaw and Frostpaw had to start somewhere, didn't it?**

Marsh water, musty logs, water vole, willow trees.

Jaws apart, inhaling, she could smell all that, and more.

Breath of wild winds from the moors,

Distant smell of trees and earth,

And the tangy, rotten smell of shadows, way too strong.

The silver tabby narrowed her eyes. ShadowClan had not been particularly hostile with them, but then again, they weren't particularly friendly either. It wouldn't surprise her to find a ShadowClan cat this side of the border.

She crouched, creeping forward almost silently, her belly fur brushing the swampy ground, ears pricked and alert. She waded through the tangle of reeds, her tabby stripes almost making her inconspicuous as she pinpointed one lone figure crouched on the bank.

_Their_ side of the bank.

Making sure she was downwind, the she-cat skirted the bushes, out-of-sight until she was in the perfect position to pounce. Crouching down on her haunches, she waited a moment before she sprang. But she had hesitated too long.

The ShadowClan cat noticed just in time, and quickly rolled out of the way to avoid injury. Frostpaw landed on empty grass, but quickly regained her bearings to face her opponent. It was a dark grey tabby she-cat, spitting in hostility, her pelt reeking of the sour smell of ShadowClan.

"How dare you tresspass on RiverClan territory!" Frostpaw snarled, claws unsheathed. She swiped a forepaw angrily at the ShadowClan cat's nose, drawing blood. Her opponent yowled in fury, blood trickling down her jaw.

"RiverClan has been the most well-fed clan for as long as any cat can remember! You sit around, even in leaf-bare, watching us all starve to death while you gobble down the best prey. But now," Her strikingly amber-red eye flashed as she crouched, getting ready to pounce. "That will all change." With a swift leap, the cat leapt, claws outstretched to injure.

Suddenly, a flash of a ginger pelt whipped across Frostpaw's vision, knocking the ShadowClan intruder to the ground. "No it won't," she hissed, "Now if I were you, I'd go crawl back to the stinking hole you came out of."

The young RiverClan apprentice felt a wave of relief at seeing her mentor. "Rushbrook!" she exclaimed. The RiverClan warrior flicked her ears in acknowledgement, her light blue eyes not moving from the ShadowClan cat.

Suddenly, at the opposite side of the river, two ShadowClan warriors emerged from the shadows, their pelts bristling.

Rushbrook glanced up at the two new cats, lip curled. "Shadowblaze, I'm assured that you have a good reason to have let your apprentice trespass on RiverClan territory."

"A simple mistake." The ShadowClan deputy replied, "She accidentally ran over the border. A common error made by many apprentices, don't you agree?" Frostpaw noticed the black she-cat's eyes trained on her, and she snarled back.

"The border is a bit hard to miss," Rushbrook retorted, gesturing at the trickle of water which separated the two parties, "Your apprentices must really be dim-witted if they ignore something as obvious as a stream."

The ShadowClan apprentice under Rushbrook writhed in fury, "At least I don't ignore the opportunity of success." She spat, "Unlike some."

"Darkpaw, that's enough." The other cat snarled, "Release her, Rushbrook. She's learned her lesson."

"No, Ivyclaw." Shadowblaze had her green eyes narrowed thoughtfully, "I don't think it's Darkpaw who needs a lesson, so much as overfed warriors. What do you think? Do you think maybe we should show them what it's like to be hungry?"

"You shall do no such thing." A pale white warrior emerged from the bushes, another warrior by his side, "But if you are smart enough to realize that you're outnumbered, I would suggest you leave."

Shadowblaze's eyes flashed. "Very well. Come now, Darkpaw" Her white-tipped tail flicked, beckoning the intruder back over to where she belonged. Rushbrook sat back, watching them leave. But just as the dark apprentice vanished back into the shadows, she turned to face Frostpaw.

"I promise you, though." She spat, "This is only just the beginning." And with the look of certainty crossing Darkpaw's amber eyes, Frostpaw knew she meant it.

Just the beginning.


	2. Wanna Play?

**I'm pretty sure this should be the 2nd one. I'll give someone a Rainwhisker (I 3 him!) plushie for anyone who can guess who Pounce will turn out to be...**

It was quiet.

Too quiet for Pounce.

His tiny yellow eyes blinked open as he surveyed his surroundings. Red brick, silver cans, trash littered about. The only world he knew. Home.

But what felt more like home was the soft rumble and sweet milk-scent of his mother. He could always count on feeling safe, feeling secure, with her nearby. When she was close at hand, he was as brave as the mighty cats that she said once roamed the woods. Though he didn't know what the woods exactly were, he made sure not to ask his mother. It didn't seem like a thing a six-moon kit should be asking.

Now, he watched his mother softly inhale, then exhale, and he pressed against her sleeping form, trying to go back to sleep. Yet he felt a tugging at his heart, the curiosity to explore more beyond this cramped alleyway. He had only just opened his eyes, but already he was getting bored with the things he knew. What about the things he didn't?

Pounce turned to another tiny form, snuggled deeply into the crevice of his mother's shoulder. Separating himself from his mother's warm flank, he crept up to the other kit, nudging him awake.

"Come on, Hoot!" Pounce hissed, poking a paw into his brother's exposed light brown belly. The tom only muttered something, striking out a paw in his sleep, whacking it from side to cuff his younger sibling, with no success. Finally, he only tucked his tail over his nose and went back to sleep.

Fine then. Pounce would explore himself. Turning away from his brother, he scampered a few tail-lengths, watching his paws. It wouldn't do to trip over something, make a loud ruckus, and awake his mother. Then his adventure would fail for sure.

The thought of his mother made the tiny white kit look back. She hadn't been disturbed; still sleeping in the midst of a shallow cardboard box. He could just glimpse his brother curled up on her back. The thought of venturing into the open suddenly tinged his mind with fear. Pounce thought twice about waking his brother. Two heads are always better than one, his mother always said. But Pounce's white tail twitched annoyingly. 'Never mind.' He thought, 'I'll just make this quick.'

Without looking back, he leapt forward, propelling himself over the hard, black surface, paws making tiny thumping noises. He made sure to side-step any bits of trash that lay about, still aware of the sleeping forms behind him. But freedom was so close! A few tail-lengths, paw-steps, kitten-steps away. And then he was launched into a brilliance of sunshine.

He was temporarily blinded. The sun was shining ever so much more brightly out in the open than in the alleyway. Like fierce claws, they pierced the shade of the trees above. When he could regain his senses, he saw these trees. Not many, but a few, dotted here and there. Pounce wondered if these were his mother's 'woods'. They sure looked like what she described.

Yellow eyes wide, Pounce drank all this up, and more. It was so much more exciting out here, with the wind to ruffle your fur, and the scents to flood your senses. He felt free, free to explore wherever he wished. Excitement swelling up in his tiny form, he leapt into the tall grasses, enjoying the feel of tall stems flanking his sides. He leaped for a whispering butterfly, lapped daintily from a puddle. This was to life for him.

He was busy examining a beetle, when he sensed it. A overcoming dread and darkness flooded him. He felt like he was back trapped in the alleyway, no escape. A stench filled his nostrils, like the smell of a dirty rat.

"Pounce!" His mother's exasperated wail streaked through the darkness. "Pounce, where are you?"

Pounce's mind was still muddled with shadows, when suddenly, the darkness vanished, as if finding another source. When his senses returned, he felt alarm sweep through him. Mother! Where was she?

Panic shaking his tiny body, he raced back through the grass, senses watchful for any sign of her. But was this the way back? He couldn't remember. All he could count on was for his mother to call out his name once more.

Suddenly, Pounce stumbled upon something else, something dark grey and furry. Tumbling head over heels, he was hardly conscious of the darkness that flooded his body once more. He only felt the bumps of rocks and roots as he skidded a few paw-steps away, landing in a jumbled heap.

"Mouse-dung!" The furry lump spat quietly. It was a dark gray kit upon which Pounce had stumbled upon. He was also sprawled on the ground, but was quicker to get to his paws. The young tom turned to Pounce, amber eyes blazing. "Can't you see I'm trying to be _quiet?_"

Pounce scrambled to his paws, looking at the stranger curiously. "Sorry," he mewed innocently. The prospect of finding his mother quickly vanished with the discovery of this new cat. Pounce cocked his head, before crouching, tail tip twitching. This other kit wasn't much older than himself, and the white kit missed his brother. Maybe, he would take up an offer to play...

"My name's Pounce." He exclaimed, "You wanna play?"

"No." The other cat replied bluntly, lip curled in a snarl. "I'm not going to play with _kit_. Especially a playful one." The fur on his neck relaxed a bit, as a flash of confidence lit his face. "I'm on a mission. A very important mission. So I don't need you to be hanging around." He turned abruptly, and disappeared into the grass, leaving Pounce behind.

But the tiny white kit was not one to let a newly found friend slip through his paws. He leapt into the grass, bounding over to the other cat's retreating form.

"What mission?" he asked happily, "Do you get to do something exciting? I love exciting things. What's your name? My name's Pounce."

A dark cloud passed over the other cat's face. "My name is Killer." he growled, "And no, I can't tell you about the mission. We can't risk a tiny kit running off and telling all the clans about our position."

"I'm not a kit." Pounce insisted, "I'm nearly as big as you."

Killer said nothing.

"And anyways," Pounce continued, "What are clans? Are they like us? Are there other cats like me and you?"

The dark gray tom turned to face the kit. "I've already told you too much already. Now can you please leave? Your already to close to the place where we're-"

Suddenly, a thin wail rose above the grass, "Pounce!"

"Mother!" Pounce gasped. He bounded forward, running towards where he last heard her.

"No!" The cat Pounce left behind him leapt in front, blocking his way. "You can't go that way! That's where _they_ are."

"But... Mother!" Pounce cried, "Where is she?"

Killer looked at the white kit, his dark pelt fluffed out in alarm. Finally, he sighed. "I guess I can show you. But don't let _anyone_ see you. If they do, I'll be kicked out of the Alliance for sure."

Pounce nodded, eyes wide.

"Very well then. Follow me."

Silently, the two cat crept through the tall grass, making sure not to be heard by any cats. Pounce silently wondered who they were hiding _from_. But he didn't question Killer. He seemed to know what was going on.

All of the sudden, Killer stopped, halting Pounce. His amber eyes widened as he looked at Pounce, and his ears flicked at the soft conversation he was hearing.

"Why are we here again, Flickerwing?" One voice whispered, "This Twolegplace isn't what we're used to."

"Yeah." A tiny voice added, "They must be imitating a forest or something. There are a whole bunch of trees, yet the grass is too long and there are these oddly-colored flowers..."

"We need to get to the sun-drown place, remember, Polarpaw?" A third voice explained, "And this is just a clumsy excuse of a short-cut. Why'd you lead us here, Coldfrost?"

A deeper voice growled in annoyance, "Some of you don't remember what it means to be _quiet," _he hissed, "And besides, this _is_ a shortcut, Flickerwing."

"The other thing I don't get," The second voice complained, "Is why we have to be quiet. We can take any kittypets that challenge us."

"It's not kittypets we have to be worried about," Coldfrost hissed, "It's-"

The deep voice was interrupted by a long cry. "Pounce!" His mother called.

Pounce's eyes widened. "Mother!" he cried. He leapt through the foliage, leaving Killer wide-eyed in shock. His tiny paws pelted the ground once more as he came through the grass and came face to face with another cat.

The first thing he realized was that she wasn't his mother. This new cat was a white, brown, and orange calico she-cat. Pounce took a step back, fur fluffed in shock. But the friendly face quickly changed his demeanor, and the kit crouched, tail high as he exclaimed, "Wanna play?"

The calico she-cat looked about ready to answer when suddenly, she was pushed out of the way by a much bigger, black tom. Blue eyes glaring, he stared down at the tiny kit, claws unsheathed. "We most certainly want to play." He growled. Then, eyes narrowed, he raised his paw to strike.


End file.
